Afro Samurai

2007 animation science fiction samurai adventure



Rating: 13/20



Plot: In a world where people fight over headbands, Afro Samurai, a well-trained and ticked-off samurai with an afro, is on a journey to avenge the death of his father. Lots of challenges stand in his way. There's carnage galore.


This is wall-to-wall violent action with almost every single scene ending with a shot of a limb-strewn landscape and rivers of blood. Hip hop accompanies courtesy of The Rza. The story's structure also works well, intertwining flashbacks to help characterize and give the story some emotional connection. There's some neat animation and some bloody artsiness, and for a little under two hours, it remains undeniably cool. Ultimately, it completely lacks substance and doesn't move past the typical good vs. evil/revenge stories it mimics. Afro Samurai references more traditional samurai stories (although it lacks the depth and values and overall sophistication), Star Wars, and maybe even blaxploitation flicks. Probably something that works in small doses (it is, after all, a television series instead of an actual movie) rather than in one sitting unless you're in the mood for two hours of sword fights that barely make sense.



Not an afro (I don't even know what it is.):